KCFC Announces Member Loan Campaign

At a General Membership meeting, KCFC’s President Colleen Watts alongside Board Member Jeff Carpinetta announces plans for our Member Loan Campaign to begin on October 1st.

On September 14th, Kensington Community Food Co-op held a General Membership meeting at the site of our future grocery store at 2670 Coral St (corner of Coral Street, Frankford and Lehigh Avenues.) Committee chairs as well as our Board of Directors were on hand to update member-owners on the progress made towards opening a member owned grocery store in Kensington. Chairpersons from the Grocery Operations, Membership, Media and Marketing, Planning and Finance committees presented updates on the work of their committees and future plans. Plans for our forthcoming Member Loan campaign were also presented.

What is a Member Loan Campaign and why is it so important?

Member Loans are a standard funding strategy amongst startup and existing co-operatives. KCFC will be asking our member-owners to lend the co-op money that will be used to transform our space into the amazing grocery store our neighborhood needs. A member loan made to KCFC is a deeper financial investment in the business you are already an owner of through your membership share in the co-op. The loan is a legal contract with KCFC where, for your monetary investment, KCFC agrees to pay you back an annual interest rate from 0-4% simple (not compound) interest, with a loan term of 6 to 10 years Member Owners who chose to loan funds to KCFC will be given the choice of when and at what interest rate their loan is repaid. Accrued interest and principal will be repaid at the maturity of the loan, subject to any limitations and conditions explained in the member loan information packet, which will be repeated on the promissory note (the contract). KCFC plans to raise $400,000 in member loans during this campaign. By doing this, we will put ourselves on target to meet our timeline to open a grocery.

In order to receive financing from outside lenders, it is crucial that our members show financial support by lending money for this project. Member loans benefit the Co-op because the terms are favorable, banks consider member loans as owner equity and, most importantly, member loans show banks and other lenders that the community supports this project. Member loans are an opportunity for those who have the resources to share them for the common good. Mariposa, Weaver’s Way, Swarthmore & Creek Side co-ops have all used member loans as core financing strategies with great success.

Member loans represent a strong commitment and engagement in the co-op on behalf of its members. While not provided by all members, member loans are nevertheless a very good indicator of member buy-in and support for the proposed co-op. Such investment illustrates that the member values the co-op’s services and is willing to lend a sizable amount of money to the co-op, even when clearly understanding the challenges involved.

Stay tuned for more details about our Member Loan Campaign and for more information please contact us at info@kcfc.coop. To become a Member please visit kcfc.coop/membership and join today.